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Democrats in the US Congress will attempt to remove President Donald Trump from office this week, either by pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to pass the 25th Amendment or in a historic second impeachment attempt, after that Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building.
Here’s what to expect in the coming days:
Monday: resolution asking Pence to remove Trump
On Monday, House Democrats will attempt to pass a resolution asking Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which allows the vice president and cabinet to remove a president deemed incapable of doing his job. The resolution, written by Democratic Representative of Maryland Jamie Raskin, accuses Trump of pressuring election officials to reverse his defeat and encouraging his supporters to march on Capitol Hill.
The House is scheduled to meet in “pro forma” session at 11 am ET (4 pm GMT), when few members are expected to be present.
Republicans are likely to block the attempt to pass the resolution without a full and recorded vote.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy have scheduled private conference calls with their members.
Tuesday: vote on the resolution of the 25th amendment
If Republicans block immediate action, the House will hold a formal recorded vote on Tuesday, according to Pelosi. The measure is expected to pass through the House, where Democrats hold a 222-211 majority.
The vote would put pressure on Pence, but not force him to act. This gives him 24 hours to respond.
Pence has dismissed Trump’s pleas to somehow prevent Congress from certifying Democratic President Joe Biden’s victory, and the two are not currently speaking to each other, sources say.
Still, it’s unclear whether Pence would be ready to invoke the 25th Amendment, or whether he would gain the support of a sufficient number of cabinet members to implement it.
After that: impeachment
Assuming Pence does not act, House Democrats will then introduce impeachment legislation for a vote, Pelosi said.
Democratic Representatives Ted Lieu, David Cicilline and Jamie Raskin presented an impeachment article calling for Trump’s impeachment for “incitement to insurgency.” The measure has the support of more than 200 Democrats.
The House Rules Committee would set the parameters for debate and voting in the House, which could take place as early as Wednesday or Thursday.
The impeachment motion would likely pass the House, given its strong support from the Democrats who control the chamber. That would make Trump the only US president to be impeached twice.
The indictment is akin to an indictment – it leads to a trial in the US Senate, which earlier this year acquitted Trump on his first indictment of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. He was acquitted in February 2020.
A two-thirds majority is needed to convict Trump of an impeachment charge and remove him from office.
That means all 50 Democrats and at least 17 of the 50 House Republicans should vote to condemn him. Only two Senate Republicans on Sunday said publicly that Trump should not serve his term.
The Senate is required to consider impeachment charges as soon as they receive them from the House, but it is not due back until January 19. Trump’s term ends on January 20, when Biden is sworn in.
This means the Senate could be burdened with impeachment during the first few weeks of its mandate, rather than voting on his cabinet appointments and other political priorities, such as responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The House could avoid that scenario by simply waiting to send the impeachment charge to the Senate for 100 days, as Democratic Representative James Clyburn suggested on CNN on Sunday.
This would allow Congress to focus on Biden’s agenda. By the time the Senate turns to the impeachment charge, Trump would be long out of the White House. But if they voted to convict, he could be barred from holding public office in the future.
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